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Politics Explained

Who are the political winners and losers from coronavirus?

Keeping their jobs after all this will be a win for some, writes Sean O'Grady

Saturday 30 May 2020 19:00 BST
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Boris Johnson will come out of the crisis a diminished figure following the Cummings scandal
Boris Johnson will come out of the crisis a diminished figure following the Cummings scandal

The glib answer to the glib question “who are the winners and losers from coronavirus” is that “we are all losers”. It seems distasteful to even contemplate entertaining such a comparison of political fortunes when about 50,000 people in Britain have died, directly or indirectly, from the pandemic, with many more left with continuing health problems and more families and friends still dealing with bereavement. However you interpret the numbers, it is one of the highest counts in the world.

Yet the pandemic is, whether we wish it so or not, a deeply political event, and in recent days a deeply divisive one. It will change the political course of the country.

Until the last week or so the prime minister had enjoyed a remarkable degree of public support. His own serious illness with Covid-19 rightly evoked widespread sympathy for him and for his pregnant partner Carrie Symonds (who was also ill, though not hospitalised). Like other world leaders, he was the beneficiary of an early “rallying round” effect.

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